While David-Lloyd has had plenty of acting experience on stage and in television shows such as The Bill and Absolute Power, he has no illusions it's his role as Torchwood's Ianto Jones that defines his career – at least for now.

And it's that role that will see the Welsh actor come to Australia next week for the Supanova Pop Culture Expo.

"You can't help but embrace it, especially in a career where 1 per cent of actors work at any one time. Any sort of twists and turns you can create, you have to embrace where it takes you," he says.

"I've been really lucky with the fact that it's a sci-fi show [and so] opens doors to all these conventions all over the world.

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"So, I suppose you do get typecast in a way and people sort of do recognise you as 'the gay one from Torchwood' and maybe there's some auditions that you may not be seen for because of that, but if you look at the perks on the other hand, with all the places I've been, it's been great. I'm talking to you now, currently stood on a balcony looking over the rooftops of Prague because I'm doing a convention here on the weekend," he says.

It's not a bad life.

The convention circuit has been fertile ground for the self-confessed Star Trek: The Next Generation fanboy.

"I was always a huge 'Next Gen' Trekkie," David-Lloyd says.

And while he could never afford to go to conventions when he was younger, he has had some opportunities to meet his heroes in shared green rooms on the sci-fi convention circuit.

"But I'm still scared to speak to them. It's really strange that I still turn into a wide-eyed fanboy at times," he says.

No matter where he goes, David-Lloyd knows there's one question that he's going to be asked - over and over again.

"What's it like to kiss John Barrowman? Unfortunately," he says.

Ianto Jones is considered by some to be one of the top gay characters ever and his "will they/won't they" relationship with Captain Jack (Barrowman) was a much-loved story arc among fans.

But David-Lloyd, who has spoken of the "suspension of disbelief" required to play a gay character, says he's a bit over being asked whether Barrowman is a good kisser.

Which brings us to our next question – is he?

"No," David-Lloyd laughs. "That's become my stock answer, anyway, or 'no comment'. If somebody wants to know the answer to that question, there are hundreds of interviews now online that have the answer.

"So I now refuse to answer the question."

It's the exploration of sexuality, so integral to Torchwood's storylines, that helps separate the show from Doctor Who, despite their shared fictional universe.

And the difference in tone between the two shows is reflected in the two fan bases, in David-Lloyd's experience.

"There are fans who like both, but I think it's one of those Elvis or the Beatles things – you can like both but you always like one more than the other," he says.

"Personally, I like sci-fi that's a bit more adult, a bit more human. Doctor Who's a family show that's for kids as well and it does that job brilliantly."

Indeed, it's difficult to imagine Doctor Who so mercilessly killing off a central character – Adric, a companion of Peter Davison's fifth Doctor, is a rare exception – the way Torchwood did Ianto Jones.

Ianto appeared in 30 of the 31 Torchwood episodes in its first three seasons, as well as two Doctor Who episodes, before he met his fate during the Children of the Earth series, succumbing to an alien virus while cradled in Captain Jack's arms.

"That was a strange thing. There was quite a lot of negativity surrounding it. From my point of view, a TV character that I helped create had a really good innings when you compare his lifespan to some of the other characters in Torchwood," David-Lloyd says.

"It's really good that a lot of people were moved to create a shrine in Cardiff Bay and send coffee to the BBC in protest [the Ianto character was well known for his coffee-making skills], but at the end of the day Ianto has gone now."

So was David-Lloyd sad to see the back of Ianto, or was it time to move on?

"When you're part of a great show like that, waiting for the day when you're character's going to be killed off – and especially the way Torchwood is written, no one was safe really – I think I was lucky to get as far as I did.

"I was expecting to get killed off at the end of the first season. I was happy to leave it where I did and grateful that it got that far."

David-Lloyd will appear at Supanova in Brisbane at the RNA Showgrounds from November 9 to 11 and at the Adelaide Showgrounds from November 16 to 18.

His prog-metal band, Blue Gillespie, will play at the Tempo Bar in Fortitude Valley on November 11 and the Enigma Bar in Adelaide on November 18.

"We've got a lot of fans for the band in Australia, for some reason, so the organisers thought it'd be a good idea to bring us over," David-Lloyd says.

"It's the biggest one we've done in conjunction with a convention – we're pretty excited."